time

Name: time, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/taɪm/

//taɪm// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“time” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #60. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#60
frequency rank, English: 27,828
“T” headwords: 5
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.

Corpus desk

Index EN-time · time · English

time · rank #60 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

FREQ-CORE #60
LEN-MID 4 letters
VOW-2 2 vowels
CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
VAR-MID 5 variants
BOOK-DENSE 27,828
PHOTO-FINISH which

Nearest frequency peer: which (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

there

99,944
her

99,943
which

99,942
time

99,941
get

99,940
been

99,939

What this shows Bars show where “time” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

time vs TM

0% similar

time vs tom

50% similar

time vs tip

50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for time
Property	Value
Headword	time
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/taɪm/
Letters	4
Frequency rank	#60
Misspellings tracked	5
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “time” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). time lands here:

#60

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around time (IPA /taɪm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #60 among 27,828 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 27 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for time, with forms such as "itme", "tiem", and "timme". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TM", "tom", "tip", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tyme, time, from Old English tīma (“time, period, space of time, season, lifetime, fixed time, favorable time, opportunity”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīmō, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō, from Pro… The correct English form is time, spelled T-I-M-E.

Definition

1
The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.
2
The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.
3
The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.
4
The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.
5
The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.
6
A duration of time.
7
A duration of time.
8
A duration of time.
9
A duration of time.
10
A duration of time.
11
A duration of time.
12
A duration of time.
13
An instant of time.
14
An instant of time.
15
An instant of time.
16
An instant of time.
17
An instant of time.
18
An instant of time.
19
An instant of time.
20
The measurement under some system of region of day or moment.
21
A ratio of comparison (see also usage notes and prepositional sense at 'times').
22
The measured duration of sounds.
23
The measured duration of sounds.
24
The measured duration of sounds.
25
The measured duration of sounds.
26
Synonym of tense
27
Clipping of a long time.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how time appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

Time stops for nobody. the ebb and flow of time
Time is the fire in which we burn.

Etymology

From Middle English tyme, time, from Old English tīma (“time, period, space of time, season, lifetime, fixed time, favorable time, opportunity”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīmō, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō, from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- (“to divide”). Related to tide. Not related to Latin tempus. Cognates * Scots tym, tyme (“time”) * Alemannic German Zimen, Zīmmän (“time, time of the year, opportune time, opportunity”) * Danish time (“hour, lesson”) * Elfdalian taime (“hour”) * Faroese tími (“hour, lesson, time”) * Icelandic tími (“time, season”) * Norwegian time (“lesson, hour”) * Swedish timma, timme (“hour”).

Synonyms

time

This word in other languages

tiempo(Español)temps(Français)Zeit(Deutsch)tempo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

itme
tiem
timme
tmie
ttime

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of time - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "time"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "time"?

"time" is spelled T-I-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /taɪm/.

What does "time" mean?

As a noun, "time" means: The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.

What words are commonly confused with "time"?

"time" is commonly confused with "TM", "tom", "tip". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "time"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "time" is /taɪm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "time"?

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "time", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

been#62 it's#55 were#52 some#69

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

also5 variants more5 variants like5 variants into5 variants

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.